CAMBRIDGE, MASS. (WHDH) - President Trump says he plans on asking Harvard University to return money given to them from the federal government for coronavirus relief.
In a press conference on Tuesday, Trump said he will ask the university to give back the more than $8 million it received under the CARES Act Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund.
“I don’t like when Harvard, that has I think a $40 billion endowment or some incredible amount of money, that Harvard gets this money. Harvard should pay that money back,” Trump said. “I want Harvard to pay the money back, OK?”
The school has one of the largest endowments in the country and the president said that school administrators never should have accepted the federal funding.
Trump stated this while responding to questions about the Paycheck Protection Program, which is meant to help small businesses.
University officials released a statement in response to the accusations, reiterating that they received the money through the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund.
“Like most colleges and universities, Harvard has been allocated funds as part of the CARES Act Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund. Harvard has committed that 100% of these emergency higher education funds will be used to provide direct assistance to students facing urgent financial needs due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” a spokesperson for the Ivy League university wrote.
Major companies have come under fire for tapping into the Paycheck Protection Program after the fund ran out of money last week.
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